NextEV aims to leverage Formula E racing tech to take on Tesla

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Formula racing has long been a laboratory for performance car companies to push their R&D to the limit, on the way to introducing it into their street-legal car models. That’s one reason that cutting-edge Formula 1 has moved to hybrid engines from the more fan-popular V-8s; hybrids are where the money is for companies like Mercedes and Renault that drive much of the funding. Startup circuit Formula E was founded in part to do the same thing for electric vehicle development. Now, Chinese startup NextEV aims to take its learnings from Formula E and turn them into a competitive all-electric mass-market crossover — aiming squarely at Tesla’s Model X.

NextEV started with Formula E and an electric supercar

NextEV recently attracted attention when its Nio EP9 1,341 horsepower prototype supercar set an electric vehicle record on Germany’s Nürburgring track. Perhaps just as impressive is that, despite having a massive motor and incredible top speed of 194 mph, the EP9 is designed for a 265-mile range. Given that Formula E cars — with a top speed of 140 mph — can only run for 30 minutes on a battery charge, that’s quite a step up. NextEV hopes to use the funds from selling six of its EP9 supercars to help fund the development of its crossover.

Once it comes to market, NextEV expects its crossover to compete with Tesla, BMW, and Audi by delivering similar performance at a lower price. That’s easy to say before you’ve started production, but as we’ve seen with Tesla, initial cost and price estimates are often optimistic. Formula E technology has come a long way from when we first covered its launch in 2014, but each team only needs a few cars for the season, so they can each be hand-tuned.

Technology transfer from racing to mass market is hard

Anyone who watches Formula E knows that breakdowns and electrical failures are common. That’s true even though each car only has to run for 30 minutes (the drivers switch cars in the middle of the race, which is safer than trying to swap batteries). The transition from there to supercar isn’t huge. Most supercars spend 99% of their time in a show garage, and owners expect to have a team of mechanics around. But to compete in the mass market, vehicles are expected to remain on the road, and safe, for years.

Tesla has managed a unique feat in building itself — over a period of years and several models — from an unknown upstart to a respected, major manufacturer of electric cars. It’s not at all clear whether NextEV will be able to accomplish the same thing in record time. If it does, it will be a huge and much-needed boost for the value of Formula E.

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